Golf: Dawson races clear in Bridgestone Order of Merit

Robert Brazil (Naas) driving at the 11th tee during day one of the Flogas Irish Amateur Open Championship at Royal County Down Golf Club today (17/05/2018). Picture by Pat Cashman

Newly crowned Flogas Irish Amateur Open champion Robin Dawson has moved top of the Bridgestone Order of Merit.

Dawson claimed the first major victory of his career at Royal County Down on Sunday (20 May) and is now leading the race to top the Bridgestone Order of Merit. The 22-year-old from Tramore has been an Ireland senior international since 2014 but had yet to win a men’s championship until Sunday’s wire to wire success.

“I have just been knocking on the door for so long,” said Dawson after the final round of the Irish Amateur. Runner-up four times in 2017, he has endured more than his fair share of near misses.

And he admitted afterwards: “There were a lot of players with championships and I wasn’t one of them, which really bothered me so it did.”

Now that his name has been added to the list of Irish Amateur Open winners, he joins an illustrious group of players such as his coach, Noel Fox, and Ireland teammate, Peter O’Keeffe. The 2018 Irish champion is also on track to secure his place in the Ireland team for this year’s Home Internationals.

Dawson leads the Bridgestone Order of Merit by almost 100 points with the top two players at the end of the Bridgestone series earning automatic selection for Ireland. Castle’s Alex Gleeson is second in the table thanks to his third place finish at Royal County Down.

West of Ireland winner Robert Brazill drops down to third in the table despite picking up 60 order of merit points at the Flogas Irish Amateur Open. Brazill’s early season form has been rewarded with a call-up to the GUI National Panel.

Mallow’s James Sugrue and Dun Laoghaire’s Alan Fahy complete the top five. The Bridgestone series moves to County Louth next n for the East of Ireland (2-4 June). The other remaining events are: Connacht Stroke Play (9-10 June), North of Ireland (9-13 July), South of Ireland (25-29 July) and AIG Irish Close (4-8 August).

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